8th AF Airfield Dump Dig.

**Bird Dog** · 11-02-2009, 10:35 PM

Good to see others here who enjoy peeling back the turf to find the hidden past.

Here is what we found recently when we opened up a USAAF dump site, this was three weeks ago & we are still sorting the finds.

As much as I'd like to post all the pictures here I have already done so at our main site so please take a look at this link if you are interested.

Aces, Contrails & Unsung Heroes • View topic - Airfield Dig & BBC TV Collaboration.

**Ash Riding** · 11-03-2009, 12:02 AM

wow !!!!!!!

**Bird Dog** · 11-03-2009, 12:51 AM

We are returning very soon to recover more......keep watching!

**Adrian Stevenson** · 11-03-2009, 08:50 AM

Excellent stuff. One of the diggers involved is a good friend of mine.

Cheers, Ade.

**Steve T** · 11-03-2009, 10:42 AM

Excellent work. You ever need any help with this kind of thing, give me a shout.

Steve T

**Bird Dog** · 11-03-2009, 12:55 PM

Who might that person be?

**Adrian Stevenson** · 11-03-2009, 01:01 PM

Paul Bellamy. Say Hello from me. I have not seen Paul since July.

Cheers, Ade.

P.S. Welcome to the forum! And thanks for a great thread.

**Bird Dog** · 11-03-2009, 01:24 PM

Ahh, Young Paul, yes I believe this was his first introduction to digging & wanted to include him as he is a very nice chap!

It is my 25th year of digging so I wanted to mark this milestone with something significant for all of us to remember in later years. There are a few on the team who have been digging since the early 1960's who knew of the legends of these big dump sites but no one was really that interested when there were so many great crash sites to recover.

I have always been fascinated by the rumours of what was buried since my Father recalled a story of what he saw dumped on the 389th BG base in 1945, sadly over the years the stories become elongated & heavily embelished to include cated Jeeps, motorcycles, whole aircraft & spare engines; so it was time to put to bed some of these rumours & open up one of these area reputed to have been used for USAAF disposal both during & at the end of WWII.

We found no Jeeps, aircraft, Motorcycles or new engines, however we only dug two trenches through this huge site & believe me it covers a few acres; but that's not to say there won't be & I will happily eat my words if we find such items!

Steve - in reply to your request to 'help', I have no idea where you are located & it might be that we are some distance apart? We are based on the Norfolk/Suffolk border.

**Steve T** · 11-03-2009, 01:52 PM

Bird Dog

I live in Leicestershire and, if you do a search of posts started by me, you will see I have been doing what you're doing now on a smaller scale for some considerable time now.

Anyway, let me know if I can help at any time, especially if you're in my neck of the woods.

Cheers

Steve T

PS The base I am concentrating on at the minute, the land owner assured me there is a jeep, still in its box, buried someone on the site

I didn't have the heart to tell him the likely truth, and just nodded and said I'd let him know if I found it

**381st digger** · 11-03-2009, 04:10 PM

Hi,
One of the best threads on this web site i reckon.
Iv been pokeing around on usaaf bases for about 10 years now and would love to be involved in something like this. Just to see this equipment for the first time in 70 years must be so good!! Im only about 20 miles away from rougham (just the wrong side of bury st edmunds) Is there any way i can be involved? Regards